Clark Hunt
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Clark Knobel Hunt (born February 19, 1965) is part owner,
chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
's
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...
and a founding investor-owner in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
. Hunt is chairman of Hunt Sports Group, where he oversees the operations of the Chiefs,
FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...
and, formerly, the
Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
of MLS. He is the son of Chiefs founder
Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and ...
, and the grandson of oil tycoon
H.L. Hunt Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. (February 17, 1889 – November 29, 1974) was an American oil tycoon. By trading poker winnings for oil rights according to legend, but more likely through money he gained from successful speculation in oil leases, he ...
. Following the death of his father in 2006, Hunt, his mother, and his siblings inherited legal ownership of the Chiefs. However, as chairman and CEO, Clark is the public face of the ownership group and operating head of the franchise, representing the Chiefs at all owners meetings. Under Hunt's leadership, the Chiefs have made the playoffs eight times, won the AFC West 6 times, and appeared in two Super Bowls, winning one.


Early life and education

Hunt was born on February 19, 1965. He is the son of
Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and ...
and the grandson of oil tycoon
H.L. Hunt Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. (February 17, 1889 – November 29, 1974) was an American oil tycoon. By trading poker winnings for oil rights according to legend, but more likely through money he gained from successful speculation in oil leases, he ...
. His father had founded the Chiefs in 1960 as the Dallas Texans, a charter member of the
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
, and moved them to Kansas City two years before Clark was born. After graduating from
St. Mark's School of Texas The St. Mark's School of Texas is a nonsectarian preparatory day school for boys in grades 1–12 in Dallas, Texas, United States, accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest. History St. Mark's traces its origins to the T ...
, he graduated from
Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...
in 1987, where he was a captain of SMU's nationally ranked
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team and a two-time Academic All-American. Hunt earned a degree in business administration with a concentration in finance. Hunt worked for two years as an investment banker with
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
. He then returned to Dallas and worked with his father.


Sports career


Major League Soccer and Wizards

One of the driving forces behind the creation of
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
, Hunt helped his father run the
Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...
until the team was sold in 2006. Hunt remains a member of the league's board of governors and owns the MLS club,
FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...
, and previously owned the
Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
until 2013.


Start with Kansas City Chiefs (2005–2008)

Hunt was named chairman of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2005. Following the death of his father in 2006, he, his sister, and two brothers inherited ownership of the Chiefs. However, Hunt is the operating head of the franchise; he represents the Chiefs at owners' meetings and has the final say on personnel changes. After the Chiefs' loss to the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
in the 2007 season finale, Chiefs general manager
Carl Peterson Carl D. Peterson (born May 26, 1943) For more than 50 years, Carl Peterson was a creative force in the world of American Football, starting at the high school level, through small college ball, to major college football, and on to professional fo ...
announced that both he and head coach
Herm Edwards Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former cornerback who was most recently the head football coach at Arizona State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Phil ...
would return to the Chiefs in 2008. However, Hunt declined to immediately comment on Peterson's status. Hunt spoke out weeks later and stated that the Chiefs were his "No. 1 priority" and that "to have the best chance of success in 2008, having Carl here makes a lot of sense." Hunt wanted to avoid having a new general manager come in with a new head coach, and starting from scratch again. On December 15, Hunt announced the resignation of Peterson from his positions as general manager, president, and CEO of the franchise effective the end of the season. Prior to the decision, the Chiefs had a combined record of 9–24 under Hunt's leadership since December 23, 2006. The official press release stated that Peterson resigned, but Hunt had said the conversation had been ongoing throughout the season. Hunt said his decision to relieve Peterson of duties was not based on what happened the previous day, when the Chiefs lost an 11-point lead in the final 73 seconds and were beaten 22–21 by San Diego, dropping their record to 2–12 on the season. He also said that the fate of head coach
Herm Edwards Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former cornerback who was most recently the head football coach at Arizona State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Phil ...
would be settled after the season when a new general manager would be hired. Hunt said he would split the duties previously held by Peterson and have someone in charge of the business side and someone else in charge of football for the franchise. Hunt had kept his search for a new general manager almost entirely leakproof, instructing subordinates that only he was to speak to the situation.


Columbus Crew win (2008)

Under Hunt, Columbus Crew won their first
MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...
championship on November 23, 2008. In 2013, Hunt Sports Group sold the Columbus Crew to Precourt Sports Ventures, led by
Anthony Precourt Jay Anthony Precourt Jr. (born 1969–70) is an American investor and sports team owner. He is the CEO of Two Oak Ventures (formerly Precourt Sports Ventures), a group that owns Major League Soccer club Austin FC and formerly owned the Columbus ...
.


First Chiefs appointments (2009)

On January 13, 2009 Hunt hired
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
vice president of player personnel
Scott Pioli Scott Pioli (born March 31, 1965) is an American football executive who most recently worked as the Assistant General Manager for the Atlanta Falcons. He was an NFL analyst for NBC Sports' ''Football Night in America'', NBC Sports Network's Pro ...
as the new Chiefs general manager. On January 23 the Chiefs fired head coach
Herman Edwards Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former cornerback who was most recently the head football coach at Arizona State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Phil ...
, and
Todd Haley Richard Todd Haley (born February 28, 1967) is an American football coach who is the current head coach and general manager for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL). From 1997 to 2006, he had stints as the wide rece ...
was hired as his replacement on February 6.


Chiefs seasons (2009–2012)

Haley's first season did not go well, but he did a lot better in his second season. Hunt fired Haley on December 12, 2011, after the Chiefs had compiled a 5–8 record during the 2011 NFL season. Even though the team won the
AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...
the year before Haley was replaced by defensive coordinator
Romeo Crennel Romeo Crennel (born June 18, 1947) is a former American football coach, who was the senior advisor for football performance for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A former long-time coaching assistant to Bill Parcells, Cre ...
mid-season. Crennel finished his stint as interim head coach with a 2–1 record, including a win over the previously undefeated, and defending Super Bowl Champions (
2011 Green Bay Packers season The Green Bay Packers season was the franchise's 93rd season overall and their 91st in the National Football League (NFL), and the sixth under head coach Mike McCarthy. The team not only improved on their 10–6 record from a season earlier, th ...
). On January 9, 2012, Hunt named Crennel the team's permanent head coach. The 2012 Chiefs finished with a 2–14 record, which was the worst in the league and for the first time in franchise history the Chiefs were set to have the first pick in the upcoming
Draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
. Hunt fired both general manager Scott Pioli and head coach Romeo Crennel following the disastrous 2012 season.


Andy Reid and John Dorsey hirings (2013)

The
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
decided not to renew head coach
Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...
's contract after a 4–12, the worst of his 13-year tenure. He began exercising other head coaching opportunities and was highly coveted due to his success. During his 13 years in Philadelphia, Reid went 130–93–1 and made the playoffs 9 times (including one Super Bowl appearance). Even though there were 8 available head coaching jobs, Reid chose the Chiefs because he had a lot of respect for the Hunt family and the Chiefs Organization. On January 4, 2013 Hunt hired Reid to a 5-year contract. Originally Hunt was going to give Reid full control over all football operations (a similar arrangement to what he had in Philadelphia), but on January 13, 2013, Hunt hired John Dorsey as general manager. Previous to this Dorsey had no general manager experience but was the Director of Football Operations for the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
and had also worked as a scout in Green Bay. Dorsey and Reid both worked for the Packers from 1992 to 1998 so they had been very familiar with each other. Hunt announced that Reid and Dorsey would have equal say in football operations.


Chiefs return to success (2013–2017)

The 2013 Chiefs bounced back and finished 11–5, making the playoffs but losing to the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
in the first round of the playoffs. The Chiefs failed to make the playoffs the following year but did still finish the 2014 season with a winning record at 9–7. In 2015, Reid's third year the Chiefs improved on their 9–7 record and finished the 2015 season with a 11–5 record. 2015 saw the Chiefs win their first playoff game in Hunt's tenure and the first for the franchise since
1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, when they defeated the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
in the wild card round of the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. The Chiefs however lost in the second round to the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
ending their season. The 2016 Chiefs finished with a 12–4 record, the best of Hunt's tenure as head of the franchise and won the AFC West for the second time in his tenure. The Chiefs lost at home to the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
in the divisional round of the
2016–17 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2016 NFL season began on Saturday, January 7, 2017. The postseason tournament concluded with Super Bowl LI on Sunday, February 5, 2017, when the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons at NRG ...
. Hunt fired general manager John Dorsey on June 22, 2017 due to cap mismanagement. He then promoted Co-Director of Player Personnel
Brett Veach Brett Veach (born December 19, 1977) is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to being the Chiefs general manager, he was the Chiefs' co-director of player ...
. The Chiefs won the AFC West again in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and finished with a 10–6 record. They lost to the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
in the first round of the
2017–18 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2017 season began with the Wild Card Round on January 6, 2018, and concluded with Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018, when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadiu ...
.


Path to Super Bowl (2018–present)

The 2018 Chiefs finished with a 12–4 record and clinched a first-round playoff bye for the
2018–19 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2018 season began with the Wildcard Round on January 5, 2019, and concluded with Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 3, 2019, when the New England Patriots def ...
. The Chiefs won in the divisional round and made the
AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
for the first time since the 1993 season and were set to host it for the first time in franchise history. They lost in overtime to the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
. In
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
the Chiefs finished with a 12–4 record and again hosted the AFC Championship game. This time however, the Chiefs won their first AFC Championship and brought home the Lamar Hunt Trophy, which was named after his father. The Chiefs then went on to win
Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...
, the second in their history and first in 50 years. In his Super Bowl LIV trophy acceptance speech, he paid homage to his father’s trophy acceptance speech 50 years prior stating "It’s a beautiful trophy and I cannot think of a more perfect way to end the NFL's 100th season than receiving this trophy." The only change from his father’s speech was Lamar said "...the AFL's 10th season..." The following season, the Chiefs finished 14–2, setting a franchise record for wins in a season. The Chiefs played in
Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...
, their second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl, but lost to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
9–31, which was the team's largest margin of defeat in 4 seasons.


NFL leadership

In addition to the on-field resurgence of the team, Hunt is a leading voice among NFL owners. In 2019, Hunt was named Chairman of the influential NFL Finance Committee after serving as a member for seven years. Hunt is a member and former chairman of the NFL International Committee, and he also serves on the Management Council’s Executive Committee (CEC) and the Personal Conduct Committee. Hunt was instrumental in securing the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement in 2011, and he was one of six members of the NFL Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities.


Personal life

He is married to Tavia Shackles, a former
Miss Missouri Teen USA The Miss Missouri Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Missouri in the Miss Teen USA pageant. It is directed by Vanbros and Associates, based in Lenexa, Kansas. In 1993, Missouri joined the Vanbros ...
and
Miss Kansas USA The Miss Kansas USA pageant is a competition that selects the representative for the state of Kansas in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant is directed by Vanbros and Associates, headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas. In 1992, the state joined the Va ...
. The couple have three children. His daughter Gracie, was named Miss Kansas USA in 2021, 28 years after her mother won the pageant. Hunt is a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. From 2016 to 2020, Hunt donated $53,675 to Republican candidates and causes.


See also

*
List of NFL franchise owners __NOTOC__ The following is a list of current National Football League franchise owners: Family ownership Benson, Bidwill, McCaskey, Brown, Irsay, Hamp, Hunt, Mara, Davis, Rooney, Glazer, Spanos, York, and Adams-Strunk represent ownership ...
*
List of professional sports team owners This is a list of individuals, groups of individuals, and companies who have owned and operated a professional sports organization. The list is organized first by sport, then by franchise or team, then by owner. If an organization has gone through ...
* List of current National Football League staffs *
List of Southern Methodist University people This is a list of notable alumni, faculty, and students of Southern Methodist University. Those individuals who qualify for multiple categories have been placed under the section for which they are best known. Notable alumni and attendees Politi ...
* List of MLS franchise owners * List of people from Texas *
Martha Firestone Ford Martha Parke Firestone Ford (born September 16, 1925) is an American businesswoman and former principal owner and chairperson of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Ford is also on the board of the Henry Ford Health System. ...
*
Notable alumni of St. Mark's School of Texas The St. Mark's School of Texas is a sectarian, nonsectarian University-preparatory school, preparatory day school for boys in grades 1–12 in Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest ...
*
Green Bay Packers Board of Directors Green Bay Packers, Inc. is the publicly held nonprofit corporation that owns the National Football League (NFL)'s Green Bay Packers football franchise, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Established in 1923 as the Green Bay Football Corporation, t ...


References


External links


Kansas City Chiefs BioPart one of article on ClarkPart two of article on Clark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Clark Living people 1965 births Hunt family Kansas City Chiefs owners St. Mark's School (Texas) alumni American soccer chairmen and investors FC Dallas Southern Methodist University alumni SMU Mustangs men's soccer players Association footballers not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality